The Lincoln Mark VIII is a wonderful reminder as to what could have been. There was a time when Lincoln was cranking out some serious almost-hits, seemingly getting closer and closer to being a true competitor for the likes of Lexus. But, like administration shifts that occur every few years, it seemed Lincoln got close to fulfilling an agenda but never to the point of fulfilment before the goal posts shifted again. This 1995 Lincoln Mark VIII listed here on craigslist is offered by the original owner, and there cannot be that many left that haven’t traded hands several times by now.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the find. The Lincoln is offered for sale in Cumberland, PA with an asking price of $6,000. The big luxury coupe when introduced was supposed to take aim at the likes of the Lexus SC300/400, which by that point had introduced a new level of refinement and sportiness to a class that had run unopposed for years with no challenge to its formula of loads of leather and space and not much else. The Mark VIII saw Lincoln engineers begin to pay attention to thinks like handling and technology, with air spring suspension and constant electronic adjustment to tune the suspension for the road conditions.
Speed-sensitive steering was praised when new for being surprisingly quick in such a big sedan, while the venerable 4R70W 4-speed automatic transmission did an admirable job of not being pre-wired to offer lazy shifts, instead allowing the Mark VIII to surge to 6,000 RPMs for pedal-down shift action. All the while, the four-cam V-8 produces a strong 280 b.h.p. and 285 pound-feet of torque, moving the big coupe to 60 in under 7 seconds – really, a surprising number for such a large car. That’s a 0-60 time that will still make the Mark VIII plenty entertaining in today’s traffic conditions and terrific on the open road.
The interior of this Lincoln is in excellent shape, but it also was perhaps one of the let-downs when new. No wood trim or elegant custom touches; just acres of gray leather and matching plastics. If Ford had been a few years earlier in freshing its interiors to match the soft-touches and colors of the Europeans, things may have been different for the company’s luxury division, which today consists of several bland cross-overs with forgettable names and styling. This Mark VIII looks like a dream to drive and the long-term ownership is the proverbial cherry on top.
I love these vehicles, great to see one here at a reasonable listing price. I do think that Lincoln clung on to that fake tire hump just a bit too long, however. Kind of like the automotive equivalent of a comb over.
I like this Lincoln. If it wasn’t so far away I’d give it a look. Not to nit pick but the lower part of the dash and steering wheel looks white but the seat covers are light grey? Maybe just a trick if the light. That shade of silver it’s painted was everywhere back then.
I have always liked these Mark VIII’s, but I agree they could be described as a “near-miss.” Not sure why; maybe the tame interior, or the spare tire hump, or maybe just the changing market. I do admire the arc of the instrument panel which mimics the arc of the front and rear styling. They aren’t expensive for something now uncommonly seen.
I bought my bosses lightly used Mk8 in ’98 I think. My wife struggled to get my two toddlers in it for about a year before I had to get her a sedan, then a minivan. Oh well, I tried!
I traded my 81 Mark VI BB for the 1st year Mark VIII, 1993.
HUGE difference from all the BB bling to austere plastic.
The power of that 4 cam V8 got me in trouble, tickets.
The air bag suspension lowers the car a few inches for aerodynamics once you exceed 50 mph, and you could get close to 30 mpg with cruise set at 65 mph.
But, unlike Cadillac’s NorthStar System, Lincoln’s suspension does not have a constant monitoring/adjusting feature.
This is like owning a Mustang Cobra in a mink coat!
I had a 98 LSC in Dark Green Metallic and tan leather. Gave an impressive highway drive and cruise all day long. When coming off the highway the air suspension would raise the car an inch or so. Cool stuff. I loved how the dash wrapped itself into the door skins. And that Cobra dohc 4.6 was fairly potent. Nice review!
I was working for OSRAM Sylvania from 1993-97 in the group that developed the neon center brake light panel for these cars, along with the HID headlamps. As I understand it, Ford replaced that center panel with an LED assembly after I left. True or False? If so, does this car still have the neon lamp assembly? Or was it fitted with the LED replacement?
I worked on the neon Center High Mounted Stop Lamp (CHMSL) for the Ford Explorer while the work on the Mark’s center panel and headlights was being done by others.
Never a fan of air suspension on a car.
Very big top end these variants.
Leaks are always a maintenance headache with air suspensions. There are kits to replace the factory air springs with standard steel springs and shocks, but I don’t know how much they cost.
I agree, but we owned a Lincoln Navigator with 4 wheel air suspension. In 8 years and 130k miles only one bladder developed a leak. the Lincoln dealer sold me the part for $65 dollars and I replaced it myself in the driveway. But I’m with you, I don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze. Best riding car I’ve ever been in, an ’87 Jaguar XJ6 had traditional steel coil springs all around.
Small nitpick: the car is located in Cumberland MD, not PA. But you can drive from there to PA in about 20 minutes. That’s a beautiful area of the country, the good price and condition of this car would pair well with a weekend spent picking it up and cruising some mountain back roads.
I’m convinced the plastic interior doomed this iteration of Marks. I was actually cross-shopping this car with the Eldorado back in the day. I loved the Mark’s interior concept and design, but it just seemed so obvious that there were opportunities to glam up the interior with wood that they intentionally did not follow up on. It made the interior look sad in comparison. I bought an Eldorado.
I had a ’97 LSC, I loved the car, but there was always something wrong with it, HID lights failed and were not available, neon tail light, easy entry, interior leaks, 10 disc failed, but ran and handled great!
Yeah, the neon center taillight panel was both a problem and pricey, to boot. So expensive, in fact, that Sylvania was shipping $20 bills with every one that went out the door! The HID headlamps would eventually get the bugs worked out of them, just in time for cheaper and more reliable LED headlights to replace them! Technology marches on. HID technology was an intermediate step between conventional halogen bulbs and LED bulbs, and now LED lamps are the standard throughout the car, not just for the headlights.
This Lincoln was the last of the Mark’s. And it someway it was quite beautiful. However, their teachers were a total let down. They were absolutely boring. They look cheap. If one took the leather and replaced it with vinyl, you never see the difference. There was no wood trim. Chrome was an absolute minimum. It looked bargain basement. Additionally, the Lincoln motor car company doesn’t make anything that I would want today. All day maker trucks/SUVs. Not to prestigious in my books. They’ve lost their way. And as far as that goes, Ford motor company has lost their way. Henry Ford is spinning in his grave. Maybe they’ll spend a few more billion dollars to create another terrible electric vehicle? They have no idea what they’re doing!
Lots of good driving cars came about in the 90s. I believe one day we will see it as a sweet spot in automotive evolution. Then the SUV movement ramped up.
As for manufacturers knowing what’s next; the market is a fickle target. If someone built the perfect car would you buy it?
These always looked like if Mercury would have made a 2 door Sable. That back end less the hump and the nose was pointed more
The Mark * was an awesome car, but the competition, particularly Lexus, was pulling ahead at a blistering pace. The Mark would have made a better Thunderbird. until ’77, T-birds were always the premium priced Ford. But then Ford got lazy and slapped a grill and landau roof on a Torino, lowered the price and called it a day. Sold a ton but devalued the Thunderbird name.
The MN-12 versions, which were basis for the Lincoln Mark VIII, the T-Bird and the Mercury Cougar from 1989-97, were much better than the ’70’s versions, with modern alloy OHC V8’s and a fully independent suspension replacing the solid axle and cast iron OHV engines in previous versions. The ’70’s were the low point for American cars in general, but the T-Bird in particular. The ’77 version, with it’s ugly nose and squared off styling was possibly the second least appealing T-Bird since its immediate predecessor, the huge boat based on the Lincoln Mark V chassis, IMHO!
That 1977 T-Bird generation was the best-selling model ever.
I’m still a fan of the mark 7 was just a lot better looking car with better lines especially the special edition ones in the all black or the candy apple red they just looked fast sitting still